Fiancee of Murdered Police Officer Poses Alone in Wedding Photos

Nikki Salgot was planning the wedding of her dreams to her longtime fiancee Collin Rose when he was gunned down in the line of duty as a police officer. Even after his death, Salgot decided to take pictures in her wedding dress to pay tribute to Rose. Rose’s killer was brought to justice shortly after she took the photos.

Salgot and Rose were planning to marry on Oct. 14 when he was shot in the head during a routine traffic stop. The Detroit cop’s killer, Raymond Durham, 60, was brought to justice after he shot two more cops.

Salgot wanted to pay tribute to her life partner and did just that with help from an old friend she hadn’t spoken to in over 10 years.

Rachel Heller who owns Rachel Smaller Photography, a small business in Detroit, heard what had happened and dropped everything she had planned for that day to help Salgot.

“I remember being in tears on the way there, thinking, “How am I going to do this? How am I going to find a way to take photos that will do this justice, not just for her but for him?”‘

Heller recalled: “There were moments when Nikki would shift her dress around, or step on it and start laughing. I wanted to capture those moments, too, to show that she can still laugh. … I needed to tell the story of this woman who’s lost the love of her life but is still going to have closure, and still going to be his wife one way or another.”

During the entire photo shoot, Salgot never told Heller that the wedding would have been the following week. It wasn’t until Heller gave the photos as a gift that she divulged her secret.

Heller said she remembered thinking, “This is a woman who is not broken.” Heller said, “This did not break her. To me, she is an inspiration.”

Raymond, the 60-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed Rose, was charged with murder and attempted murder of two other Detroit police officers who were shot when they stopped him.

Raymond was linked to Rose’s death via DNA. Rose was a five-year veteran police officer and worked in the canine unit, according to the Daily Mail. He was awarded a Medal of Valor and was posthumously promoted to Sergeant.